Makings of Pastrami

Here is my foray into making pastrami from scratch.

1. Bay leaves, garlic, dried thyme, caraway seeds (because I could not find juniper berries and it's sunday in the south, so no gin) salt, sugar and water. Not in the picture, cloves.

2. Twelve pounds of brisket

3. Brining spices in the sugar and salt solution

4. Spices poured over brisket






















Now the whole house has a smell of the spices - a complex and deep, peppery black licorice aroma. We have to wait three weeks to a month to cook it. The wait will make it all the better.

Just a little blog to keep myself in order. There are so many things I say, “hey that’s great”, then don’t do shit with. Today, I watched the Travel Channel show Food Wars. The challenge involved the best pastrami in New York. Now I want to make some. It’ll take 3 weeks or so but it’ll be so worth it… Check back for progress and pics.